Yankees Turn Game-Ending Triple-Play, Beat A's 2-1
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Yankees turned their record-tying third triple play of the season to strand the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, bailing out closer Aroldis Chapman in a shaky outing and closing down a 2-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
Gary Sánchez spoiled Sean Manaea's gem with a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and Jonathan Loaisiga (7-2) and Lucas Luetge turned a 2-1 lead over to Chapman in the ninth.
A night after reaching 103.4 mph during his 15th save — his fastest pitch on a strikeout since the 2017 AL wild-card game — Chapman walked Jed Lowrie and Chad Pinder on nine pitches, topping out at 98 mph.
He was visited by an athletic trainer for a fingernail issue on his pitching hand but stayed in the game to face Sean Murphy, who drilled the second pitch of the at-bat right at third baseman Gio Urshela.
Urshela stepped on third and whizzed the ball to DJ LeMahieu, and the second baseman relayed the ball to first to get Murphy by a step.
New York also turned a triple play Thursday in Buffalo against the Blue Jays and also had one May 21 against the Chicago White Sox. The storied franchise had never turned more than one triple play in a season and tied a major league record for most in a season, last accomplished by the 2016 Chicago White Sox.
Chapman's 16th save in 18 tries sent Oakland to its first road series loss this season after eight wins and a split.
Loaisiga cleaned up Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery's jam in the sixth and covered 1 2/3 scoreless innings, helping New York lock up its fifth win in six games.
Manaea struck out a career-high 11 and Matt Olson homered for Oakland, but the A's dropped their second straight after ending a seven-game winning streak Saturday.
Manaea — a winner in three straight starts — cruised until the sixth, when he walked two batters ahead of the red-hot Sánchez.
Sánchez lined his second double of the game into the right-center gap, scoring both runners for a 2-1 lead.
The slow-footed Sánchez got hung up between second and third on the play but juked around a tag attempt from A's third baseman Matt Chapman before diving to get a hand onto the bag.
Yankee Stadium roared, groaned and roared again on the roller coaster play, then let out another ovation when umpires upheld the safe call on replay review.
A two-time All-Star, Sánchez lost his starting job during last year's postseason due to an extended slump, one that stretched into the start of 2021. He's surged back to top form in June, entering Sunday hitting .294 with a 1.012 OPS this month. He has five homers in his past 10 games, and 11 of his past 17 hits have gone for extra bases.
Sergio Romo relieved Manaea after Sánchez's double and got out of the inning.
Manaea — throwing exclusively fastballs and changeups — dominated New York for most of his 5 1/3 innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits and two walks.
The left-hander had 20 swings and misses on his sinker, the most by a pitcher with a two-seam fastball or sinker in a game since at least 2008 when pitch tracking began.
Olson hit his 20th homer in the first inning, jumping on Montgomery's 1-0 fastball for a solo shot to center field.
Montgomery pitched through the fifth without further damage but ran into trouble in the sixth, walking leadoff hitter Mark Canha and allowing a one-out single to Olson. Loaisiga relieved and got two groundouts to keep New York within 1-0.
Montgomery allowed three hits and two walks and struck out eight.
Chapman hit a one-out triple in the eighth but was stranded when left-hander Lucas Luetge struck out Olson and got a lineout from Ramón Laureano.
TRAINER'S ROOM
A's: Manager Bob Melvin believed OF Stephen Piscotty (strained left wrist) planned to fly to Arizona on Sunday to see a specialist.
Yankees: RHP Luis Severino, who exited a rehab start last Saturday with a groin injury, felt good a day after throwing from 60 feet in the outfield and played catch again Sunday. Severino is rehabbing from undergoing Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27 last year. ... RHP Darren O'Day (strained right rotator cuff) will begin a minor league rehab assignment Tuesday.
UP NEXT
A's: RHP Frankie Montas (7-6, 4.21) starts the opener of a four-game set in Texas against Rangers RHP Kyle Gibson (4-0, 2.09).
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